Transportation & Mobility

Getting around Encinitas is made easier by utilizing alternatives such as public transportation, carpooling, biking, and walking. Not only can these alternatives be enjoyable, they can also help to improve your health and the environment.

NCTD - Bus and Rail

Reduce fossil fuels emitted by your personal vehicle and let someone else drive by taking NCTD buses and the Coaster around San Diego. Coaster stations are conveniently located in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Sorrento Valley, Old Town, and Downtown San Diego. Amtrak service is also available at the Oceanside, Solana Beach, Old Town, and Downtown San Diego stations. Services such as FLEX bring transportation to your door, at your convenience. Make a reservation just 30 minutes in advance and FLEX will give you a ride to your destination or to your nearest transit connection point. A single-adult ride costs just $5; seniors, $2.50; and children under 5 years of age ride free.

Trails

To enjoy the outdoors and climate in Encinitas, take advantage of the numerous walking trails and biking trails for recreation and to get you from point A to point B. Encinitas has 86.63 acres of open space, 143.25 acres of developed/undeveloped parks, 47.87 acres of beaches and 40.5 miles of trails. Trails such as Encinitas Ranch, Indian Head, Manchester Preserve, Olivenhain and Rancho Santa Fe Road, are great places to get started. For more information, visit the Parks & Recreation website pages.

Pedestrian Master Plan

The City was recently awarded grant funds for the development of a citywide pedestrian-oriented Safe Routes to School Plan, which emphasizes pedestrian planning, safety, and potentially designing infrastructure around school zones to make walking more fun, safe, and convenient. This is a very important project because the plan will be developed in response to community need and outline those issues (such as gaps in the sidewalk, car speed, safer ways to cross the street, better ramps at street corners, etc.) and propose viable solutions. This effort will also update and prioritize a list of pedestrian improvement projects and explore potential funding options.

The first round of workshops were completed in fall 2013. More than 60 citizens participated in-person at the workshops, while over 200 people submitted their input by using an on-line comment form. The next round of workshops, scheduled from February-March 2014, will focus on Safe Routes to/from schools within Encinitas. For more information, please refer to http://www.cityofencinitas.org/letsmoveencinitas.

Bicycle Master Plan

The Bicycle Master plan is intended to guide and influence bikeway policies, programs, and standards to make bicycling more safe, comfortable, convenient, and enjoyable for all bicyclists. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of persons who bicycle to work, school, errands, and recreate with active transportation facilities.

The Adopted Bicycle Master Plan, 2005, shows all of the existing and proposed bikeways in the City. Not only was the document complied to identify the location of convenient bike facilities in the City, but it also provides the means to prioritize and fund their construction. A map was developed for Bike to Work day in 2016, showing bike trails in Encinitas and adjacent areas. To see all of San Diego's bike trails, use iCommute's interactive bike map and check out their bike resources to learn more about biking to work.

Transit Feasibility Study

The second grant that the City has received has funded the development of a transit feasibility study to analyze the need, cost effectiveness, and economic sustainability of a locally operated shuttle service system to supplement existing NCTD transit (bus and rail). The main goal is to look at the existing NCTD service and to collect information about potential trip generators and under-served destinations to all those that live, work, and play in the city. The scope of the study is based on "feasibility" and how to measure the cost effectiveness and performance for service in general. Study results will also help NCTD and other transit operators move people in Encinitas.

North Coast Highway 101 Streetscape Project

As one of the City Council’s high priority projects, in early 2008 the City initiated a streetscape project to enhance the North Coast Highway 101 corridor. Community input has been utilized to create a concept plan for beautification, landscape, pedestrian, circulation, traffic management, and parking improvements for an approximately 2.5-mile stretch of North Coast Highway 101 (A Street to La Costa Avenue).

I-5 Freeway Widening - Public Works Plan and Transportation Resource Enhancement Program

The North Coast Corridor Program will add express lanes on I-5, upgrade the coastal rail and transit system, enhance the corridor's six lagoons and improve coastal access through the addition of 23 miles of bicycle and pedestrian paths. Learn more about the Public Works Plan, its potential impact to the City, and how to comment, here.